Madrid slams Colombia's seizure of Inassa shares
The government of Madrid has voiced its discontent over the seizure of 202bn pesos (US$67mn) in shares of Colombian water company Triple A owned by Inassa as part of an investigation into alleged mismanagement of the utility's resources.
A spokesperson for the Spanish capital's government told daily El Confidencial that the seizure, carried out earlier this month by Colombian prosecutors, sent a message that "you either jump through the hoop or we'll make you jump through it" and accused Colombia's authorities of "appropriating assets from another country, which are owned by a public company from a separate state."
Inassa is owned by Madrid water utility Canal de Isabel II, but the 2001 acquisition of the firm led to an investigation by prosecutors in Spain under the so-called Lezo probe.
The spokesperson added that, depending on how the Colombian investigation develops, Canal de Isabel II could end up requesting arbitration from the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Another source from the city government told the same daily that "some Colombian institutions have decided that Canal de Isabel II will lose Inassa."
Prosecutors allege that between 2000 and 2017 Inassa diverted resources worth 237bn pesos from Triple A through "technical assistance contracts" that were never executed, and the money instead went to Canal de Isabel II and Panamanian firm Slasa.
However, the Madrid government questions these accusations, saying that the assistance contracts were indeed executed, quoting two reports from advisory firm Grant Thornton that detailed how they were carried out and how they benefited Triple A.
The seizure was also debated during a Triple A general shareholders meeting Wednesday, where a source close to the event told daily El Heraldo that several minority shareholders criticized Colombian state-owned asset administrator SEA, the entity that is now managing the seized shares.
Triple A provides services for the city of Barranquilla (Atlántico department). It has a 99.7% potable water service coverage rate and 85.6% coverage in sewerage services, according to its website.
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